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Selena

I blinked in reaction to the sudden darkening of the room, quickly followed by a small amount of light from the bedside lamp. Slowly, I lowered my hands, staring up at what I could see of Seok's form under the blankets since I was still on the floor.

"Good night, Selena," he said. He'd just finished telling me that my life was the biggest joke in the universe and that he wanted to know if I'd become his wife by October first...

How did it end up like this again?

Honestly, I had no idea anymore. Nothing made sense. Swallowing, I held back a hiccup of a sob.

I would not...I would not cry! Not in front of this dick.

How messed up was this? My room had always been a safe haven I could escape to. A sanctuary to get away from the rest of the world.

Yet here was a guy that I seriously wanted to choke to death, smack-dab in the middle of my life.

Oh, God, I'm going to be sick!

Scrambling to my feet, I jerked open my bedroom door and started to head for the bathroom.

I ended up bumping straight into my mother. By her wide hazel eyes, the sweat running down her face, and the pale complexion she had, she'd heard everything that had just happened in the last five minutes. I wasn't okay enough to start yelling at her yet though. I seriously had to get to the bathroom.

Mom followed me in, nervously standing by the door. Throwing up the toilet seat, I barely made it as the burning in my stomach and esophagus hit its peak and the burger and fries I'd had for dinner today came back up. Choking with the pain and general disgust I felt as my stomach released all of its contents, I leaned weakly against the porcelain toilet.

"S-Selly, sweetie?" Mom whispered.

Selly. The childish nickname I'd been called up to age thirteen when I'd told everyone that knew me I much preferred my actual name. Though, when I'd been a kid, I had liked the name 'Lena'. I thought it sounded really pretty and feminine. 'Selly' just sounded...well, silly to me.

"W-why didn't you tell me?" I hissed, shakily rising to my feet. Pushing down the lever to flush the toilet, I put the lid back down. Moving through the little open doorway into the area the twin sinks were located, I started washing my hands.

"I-I didn't want you to know about the money. I was-I was hoping that if you two spent as much time together as possible, you'd naturally..." Her voice trailed off as our gazes connected in the large mirror on the wall. "I'm sorry, Selly," she whispered softly. "It's a lot of money. Both yours and Maria's futures could be completely secured with that money. You'd be able to do anything you want to. Maria could go to Harvard if she wanted to. She could get into a state-of-the-art medical school in the UK or France or anywhere else. You could pursue your dreams, whatever you decide on..."

I stared at my mother, feeling a swell of complicated emotions. Honestly, she was right. Five million for myself and two million for my family? That was a ridiculous amount of money none of us would ever see under normal circumstances. Even so, she'd kept quiet. Both she and Seok had known all about this and they'd said nothing to me. How long had they known?

"How long have you known?" I asked my internal question aloud.

She blinked, looked a little uncertain. "I only found out three days after Mathew died, when I got to California for the reading of the will," she confessed. "Seok had no idea either, until then. He talked to me later, the night before he came here."

"He didn't show up at the will reading?" I frowned, confused now. Wasn't that something required?

Mom slowly shook her head. "No, he was on a conference call with Mathew's lawyer the entire time. He said he didn't want to see the words Mathew had left him. But Mr. Carnal said it was required that Seok at least hear the parts that concerned him. They apparently came to a compromise by Seok listening in on the reading."

"So, that's it? That's everything? You want us to share a room and get married?" I demanded of her in a quiet growl. I was doing my best to make sure not to wake Maria up.

She swallowed, playing with her long red-gold curls nervously. "Yes, Selena, I do. Seok's given me his word that he wouldn't try to get in the way of my plans. But he did say he might not agree to go along with everything in the end. But...well, he did say he was going to leave it all up to you," she reminded me. "October first, right?" she asked, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I was scared how you'd react when you got home, so I was listening in," she explained.

"Mom! I'm about to be a senior in high school! You want me to get married while I'm still in high school?!" I hissed in disbelief.

She nodded her head again. "I really wish we could wait, but we only have until New Years. So, yes, I guess so," she sighed heavily. "But you are eighteen, so I can't make you. It has to be completely your own decision. You have to agree to it yourself. Seok, on the other hand, is still only seventeen. If you agree, I'll grant my consent as his legal guardian and then we'll hold the wedding at a courthouse."

I blinked, staring at her. That was right. I was legally an adult and Seok was still legally underage.

If...I-if we end up getting married and something h-happens—! Oh my God, that would be statutory rape!

I let out a strangled breath, my cheeks filling with a blush that was so bad, I could feel the heat of it. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I saw I was almost as red as a tomato.

Mom cleared her throat, her voice stiff and awkward. "Seok has, um, agreed not to try anything with you," she easily and accurately read my mind. "And...to be honest, with how he is, I believe he will keep his word," she added. "He was right. If he was a normal teenage boy, I'd never let him share a room with you, let alone sleep in the same bed together. But he's not. He's a lot different from any person I've ever met before—"

"He's suffocating," I whispered brokenly, cutting off her words as I covered my burning cheeks with my hands "If I...M-Mom if I agree, that's three years with him!"